The term “Our Father” is from the word “Abba” which carried a more intimate sense of “daddy”. It is a sense of intimacy that Jesus instructs his disciples to relate to God. The use of “our” suggests that we must pray, not only alone and for ourselves, but with and for
Why do we exist? The purpose of mankind according to Christianity, is to know God. Deuteronomy 11:13 states that Man is to serve and to love God with all your heart and all your soul. Christianity is a relationship with God, not just following the tenants of a religion. Religion is seen as mans attempt to reach God.
An outward (visible) sign of an invisible grace is an "efficacious" symbol that brings about the spiritual reality to which it points. This term applies to Jesus Christ, the great sign of God's love for us; to the Church, his continuing presence in our world; and to the Seven Sacraments.Grace is a participation in the life and love of the Trinity that comes to us through the sacraments. Each sacrament brings us a different dimension of God's life and love. Sacraments are celebrated in anticipation of divine life and insures us graces necessary to enter eternal life. The church affects the inner union of people with God.
Man was created with moral and spiritual capacities, among other things, from God so that we may understand our identity as His creation. “Theists believe that the purpose of mankind is to know God” (Weider & Gutierrez, 2011, p. 60). The Bible, according to Christians, is just one tool through which God speaks to man. In John 17:3 and Leviticus 19:37 we see just a few examples of God’s purpose for mankind. God also has standards for man regarding morality and/or ethics.
You must be one with God in order to receive the Holy Spirit. Bible4 Renesia Sweeney 1/7/13 B. Ruth: Committed because you must give your all to Jesus, remain faithful, put your trust in Him and He will direct your
Stewardship is the product of one’s new worldview that is brought about by one’s conversion. For example, how to most effectively use one’s opportunities, how one works and why, what one think and does, promoting the Gospel, living as a slave to righteous, and being a living sacrifice (Miller, n.d). Everything one has, including time, assets, effort, works, mental and physical abilities, etc. belongs to God and one is to skillfully manage it; for God’s glory and not for one’s lustful cravings. Stewards are to be trustworthy (Holy Bible, NIV, l Cor 10:26).
I. SERMON ON THE MOUNT: CORE VALUES OF THE KINGDOM A. The Sermon on the Mount is the constitution of God’s kingdom. It is Jesus’ most comprehensive statement on a believer’s role in cooperating with the grace of God and is the “litmus test” to measure our spiritual development and ministry impact. In this sermon, Jesus calls His people to perfect obedience and to make this their primary goal in life. We do this by seeking to walk in all the light that the Spirit gives us.
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” (The Holy Bible John 13:34) Jesus teaches this commandment to his disciples. Jim Casy tries to live this way by preaching and showing others that God cares. In The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck shows Casy as a prime example of Christ-likeness during the Great Depression. Through his commitment to save mankind and by living a life that reflected Jesus Christ; he shows others how to live like him.
The Bible teaches and illustrates Christian key beliefs and ideas. It is known to be the inspired Word of God, which sees the detailed formation of Christians key beliefs, most notably the nature of God, revelation, salvation, the divinity and humanity of Jesus Christ, as well as the death, resurrection and ascension of Christ. Major principle beliefs include: God created all that is seen and unseen. Christians believe that God is the creator of the universe. This is based on various Bible passages.
Each one of us is called by God and the basis of that calling is set out in Matthew 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” We can see clearly from Matthew 28:19 that each of us who have been born again, water baptised and filled with the Holy Spirit have a direct and unmistakable calling from God to serve Him in ministry. The question is not whether we have a calling but what does the outworking of that calling look like in our lives? We have the logos Word of God for us as stated in Matthew 28:19 but the logos with out the revealed Rhema Word of God will have no power in our lives. So how do we hear this Rhema Word? 1) A supernatural encounter - Saul of Tarsus was a zealous man who thought he was doing the will of God by persecuting this sect called “The Way” but God intervened and Saul had a supernatural encounter with God on that Damascus road.